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Revelations that the NSA spied on foreign Internet communications are a particularly sensitive issue in Germany, where memories of privacy intrusions under Communist rule in the East remain vivid. But the German government itself is beefing up existing surveillance in the name of fighting terrorism.

Suppose you own a bakery or a flower shop, or rent out your hall for wedding receptions, and you oppose same-sex marriage. Should you be required to serve gay couples? Most state public accommodation laws require businesses to serve everyone. But some vendors who oppose gay marriage on religious grounds say accommodating gay weddings would violate their religious beliefs. As gay marriage becomes more widespread, these conflicts between religious and civil rights are growing.

China sees Edward Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor who leaked details of the agency's surveillance programs, as the gift that keeps on giving. The country's state-run media has hailed him as a hero for exposing what it calls American hypocrisy.

Sunday marks the one-year anniversary of the High Park fire northwest of Fort Collins, Colo. The blaze consumed 259 homes in the rural area, but due to insurance woes, money and time, only 10 households have finished rebuilding a year later.

The man who leaked secret National Security Agency documents, Edward Snowden, defended his decision to reveal details of U.S. surveillance programs in a web chat on Monday. Snowden said he's still in Hong Kong and claims he wouldn't get a fair trial in the U.S. He also said he has not been in contact with the Chinese government and that there are more disclosures to come.

Blues, jazz and gospel; a civil rights movement that began with the Emmett Till case; modern glass and steel buildings that dared the sky. In Third Coast, Thomas Dyja writes that "the most profound aspects of American Modernity grew up out of the flat, prairie land next to Lake Michigan."

Weekend Edition Saturday host Scott Simon talks with NPR's Dina Temple-Raston about the latest news in the investigation and case against the accused Boston Marathon bomber.

Mexico is considering changes to its collaboration with the United States in the war on drugs. Steve Inskeep talks to Dana Priest of The Washington Post about her investigative piece examining Mexico's anti-drug war efforts.

President Obama heads to Mexico Thursday for a three day trip south of the border that includes a stop in Costa Rica. The president says he plans to focus on trade and economic opportunities between the U.S. and Mexico during his visit. But the timing of the trip comes just as Mexico is altering cooperation agreements between the two countries in the fight against drug trafficking.

Despite much international criticism, Israel has continued building its West Bank barrier. It's now nearing completion, while the Israelis and Palestinians continue to argue over whether it will help or hurt prospects for a Middle East peace agreement.